`Love thy neighbour' doesn't seem to cut it in our dog-eat-dog suburbs where tolerance and respect are wearing thin.

Last year the City of Greater Geelong received 422 complaints about barking dogs.

Readers who contacted the Geelong Advertiser yesterday said they were losing sleep, suffering stress and considering selling their homes to escape noisy neighbours and their pets.

An elderly woman in East Geelong said dogs on either side of her fence yapped all day long.

I am an old lady, 86, and can put up with a fair amount but it does get on my nerves when they are on their own all day and barking,'' she said.

A Grovedale man said he was woken at least three times a week by whining whippets, and a Newtown resident said she often stayed with her daughters in Melbourne to get away from her neighbour's barking dogs.

Donna Barsby from Kardinia Veterinary Clinic said dogs barked because they were bored, getting old, or heard loud or high-pitched noises.

Owners were often away from home when their dogs barked and annoyed neighbours should always let them know it was happening before making an official complaint, she said.

The EPA suggests neighbours talk through all noise problems but complainants to the Advertiser said they felt too intimidated to approach people they felt had shown them nothing but disrespect.

All wanted to remain anonymous.

A worried mother said her son in Waurn Ponds had called the police at least a dozen times to try and stop his neighbour's loud parties.

She said her son had considered selling his home to escape.

Mayor Shane Dowling said neighbours needed to be more mindful of each other but believed noise pollution was not a big issue in Geelong.